Number 61 » Cold War

Chronicles of a Soviet Capitalist

Matthew Gipp — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:59:19 +0000

In the November issue of Guernica, Georgian writer Irakli Iosebashvili describes how one extremely ambitious man—his father in law—navigated the wild years of capitalism after the Berlin Wall came down.

Part two was published online last week.

Nuclear Polygon, Kazakhstan

Matthew Gipp — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:06:16 +0000

The test site, named the Semipalatinsk Polygon, would go on to host 456 atomic explosions over its 40-year existence. Residents in the surrounding area became unwitting guinea pigs, exposed to the aftereffects of the bombs both intentionally and unintentionally.

The Big Picture blog’s heartbreaking photo essay.

The Soviet Doomsday Machine

Matthew Gipp — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:16:47 +0000

Writeup in Wired about the Perimeter System, the USSR’s top-secret zero-sum doomsday machine—alternatively known as the Mertvaya Ruka or Dead Hand.

The gist: a network of hidden nuclear silos, daisy-chained to a subterranean control center. In the event of a nuclear attack, fully automated retaliation is a big red button push away.

Oh yeah. And it’s still active.